What Is WOMEX?

WOMEX - the World Music Expo

WOMEX – the World Music Expo – is the most international music meeting in the world and the biggest conference of the global music scene, featuring a trade fair, talks, films and a showcase festival.

Over 2,700 professionals (including 300 performing artists) come together every October from more than 90 countries, making WOMEX not only the number one networking platform for the world music industry, but also the most diverse music meeting worldwide. Its musical spectrum is unparalleled in the international showcase festival scene, ranging from the most traditional to the new global local underground, embracing folk, roots, local and diaspora cultures and urban and electronic sounds from all over the globe as well as all musical juxtapositions of these. Jazz and classical are explicitly welcome!

7 stages, 750+ exhibiting companies, 100 speakers, films, an opening concert and an award ceremony across five packed networking days and rather short nights.

Since 1994 WOMEX has been travelling all across Europe, stopping off in

Berlin (1994, 1999, 2000)Brussels (1995)Marseille (1997)

Stockholm (1998) Rotterdam (2001)Essen (2002, 2004)

Newcastle (2005)Sevilla (2003, 2006, 2007, 2008)

Copenhagen (2009, 2010, 2011)Thessaloniki (2012) Cardiff (2013)

Budapest(2015)Santiago de Compostela (2014, 2016)Katowice (2017)

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (2018)

The 25th edition of WOMEX will take place in Tampere, Finland from Wednesday, 23 to Sunday, 27 October 2019.

Intrigued? Want to see what WOMEX is for yourself? Take part in our annual expo! You can book a trade fair stand for your company, promote yourself or send in a proposal for a chance at a programme slot at WOMEX, or simply come as a delegate and take in the many sights, sounds and opportunities on offer. Find information on registration and pricing below!

virtualWOMEX

The most important international professional market of world music of every kind. This international fair brings together professionals from the worlds of folk, roots, ethnic and traditional music and also includes concerts, conferences and documentary films. It contributes to networking as an effective means of promoting music and culture of all kinds across frontiers.

- UNESCO Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity

In its 2018 Edition, WOMEX Saw...

2,700 professionals (including 300 performing artists) from 92 countries representing 1,450 companies1,000 event promoters580 labels, publishers and distributors420 governmental, educational and other institutions830 individual booking agents, 730 managers and 400 producers300 national and international journalists A bustling Trade Fair with more than 750 exhibiting companies from 54 countries at more than 280 stands More than 60 Showcase acts with 300 musicians from over 50 countries on 7 stages The seventh WOMEX Club Summit100 speakers and mentors from 30 countries in 23 Conference Sessions; 19 Network Meetings and 11 expert Mentorings16 films in total subdivided into Market and Public Screenings and a Film Library, featuring 1 tribute, 15 new releases including 3 Spanish premieres. The Opening Concert Tránsitos Atlánticos. Three WOMEX Awards honouring Kronos Quartet from the USA; ShoShona Kish from Canada; and label of the year, Glitterbeat Records, based in Germany. The WOMEX Radio Studio, a cooperation of EBU (European Broadcasting Union), RBB (Germany), WDR (Germany), and NRK (Norway), plus EBU Radio Sessions by NRK, BBC, and KEXP Seattle.WOMEX Academy, a new Initiative by Piranha Arts Consultancy with 14 fellows from West Africa and 8 in partnership with the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki.